Helmet construction

ABSTRACT

A shell-less helmet is provided with resilient material and a stainless steel interior member to protect the individual from head trauma while at the same time preventing the use of the helmet as a weapon due to the resilient helmet outer layer.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to helmet construction and more particularly tothe design of a sports helmet designed to protect the head of anindividual while at the same time preventing the use of the helmet as aweapon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The sports helmets are typically designed with an exterior hard shelland padding within the shell which is utilized to protect the head ofthe individual. Typically these helmets surround the head of theindividual, and the individual's ears. Nonetheless there are a widerange of head injuries to athletes that occur for instance during theplaying of such games as football, lacrosse, and other team sports aswell as for instance injuries that occur from riding motorcycles,bicycles and the like as well as injuries that occur when skiing,snowboarding, skating or when driving a vehicle.

The injuries that can occur in such instances include simple fracturesto complex dangerous conditions such as when an athlete fractures theirmandibular jaw bone and has subsequent injuries to the skull's basecaused by the thrust of a condylar bone part. Also of importance areconcussions that can cause brain damage that result in dementia orAlzheimer's and in some cases death. Moreover there are reports ofathletes that have died with the severing of a vertebral cord at theneck from the sharp edge of a helmet.

Not only are these helmets used in sporting activities, these helmetsmay be used as protective gear in construction and in all cases where itis desired to protect the head of the individual.

In addition to the injury of athletes, there are also the injuries dueto head butting or collision of a rigid helmet with an athlete in whichthe helmet has a rigid outer shell. This is most notable in football inwhich head butting accounts for a not small percentage of the injuries,especially when the helmet comes in contact with the head of an opposingathlete. In such cases the helmet can be used as a weapon to disable orseverely injure an opposing player. While head butting is outlawed inmost sports, the occasional head butting with individuals wearinghelmets is regularly documented as a serious cause of injury.

There is therefore a need for an improved helmet construction whichbetter protects the head of an individual while at the same timepreventing the helmet from being used as a weapon to inflict damage onone's opponents.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In order to provide for better protection of the head of an individualin the subject invention the helmet is a shell-less helmet in which anexceptionally strong stainless steel inner layer is sandwiched betweentwo resilient layers that form the first helmet element. The resilientlayers, which may in one embodiment be a silicone rubber layer, areprovided with sufficient rigidity to resist high impact strikes due tothe internally-carried sandwiched stainless steel layer. It will beappreciated that the stainless steel provides significant penetrationresistance against outside forces applied to the helmet. In addition tostainless steel other rigid exceptionally strong materials having thesame strength and penetration resistance may be sandwiched by thesilicone rubber layers, although stainless steel provides significantpenetration rejection performance.

As will be appreciated, the exterior of the helmet is made of aresilient material such that if there is contact between the helmet andanother individual there will be a less severe impact to the individual,thus in large measure preventing the use of the helmet as a weapon.

On the other hand the silicone rubber stainless steel sandwich providesshock absorption and penetration resistance to which can be added aninterior gel layer to the inside of the silicone rubber sandwich.Further, a foam layer can be positioned adjacent the liquid gel layer,with the foam layer cushioning the forces that reach this layer, withthe foam layer in one embodiment being a NASA foam material such as NASAfoam, miracle foam and viscolastic foam. This foam is very dense andconforms to a-shape. It is medium soft to soft at 3.2-4.0 lbs. Per cubicfoot with a density of 2.80-4.0.

Finally, the portion of the helmet which touches the head may be in theform of a soft absorbent fabric layer that is detachable and washablefor reuse.

It will be appreciated that in one embodiment the helmet is in closeproximity to the head of the individual, if not in a tight press fit.

In order to provide ventilation to the head orifices at the position ofthe individual's ears are provided through all of the layers thus to beable to provide ventilation within the helmet adjacent the person'shead. These orifices permit hearing while the helmet is in place andprovide ventilation to reduce sweat surrounding the head.

Optionally miniature fans may be inserted into the aforementionedorifices for cooling purposes, whereas in another embodiment speakersand other apparatus for receiving audio commands from the outside may beplaced at or around these orifices.

Also grill bars may be attached to the forward portion of the helmet toprovide a face guard, whereas the helmet may be provided with neckprotection gear which extends from the underside back of the helmet toprotect against neck injuries.

It will be noted while the helmet includes a strong rigid stainlesssteel sandwich layer, in one embodiment the neck protecting layer whichextends downwardly at the back of the helmet includes a resilientsilicone rubber layer, liquid gel in a thick plastic bag adjacent tothis resilient layer, followed by a foam layer and a detachable layer ofabsorbent fabric, in much the same way that the helmet is constructed.

The net result of the helmet construction is that there is improvedprotection of the head of the individual from blows or forces applied tothe helmet in which the rigid strong stainless steel sandwich structureprotects the person wearing the helmet from skull concussion andfracture, whereas the helmet is of sufficiently pliable externalmaterial so that when the helmet strikes another individual, theindividual does not sustain the same type of injury as would occur witha hard plastic shelled helmet.

In summary, a shell-less helmet is provided with resilient material anda stainless steel interior member to protect the individual from headtrauma while at the same time preventing the use of the helmet as aweapon due to the resilient helmet outer layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the subject invention will be betterunderstood in connection with the Detailed Description, in conjunctionwith the Drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the prior art in which footballhelmets having hard outer shells can be used as weapons during anathletic contest, with the hard outer shell resulting in head trauma anddamage to an opponent due to the hard outer shell structure;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the subject helmet showing aresilient outer layer and has a composite structure comprising astainless steel layer sandwiched between two resilient rubber layers,one of which forms the outer surface of the helmet, also includingadditional shock absorbing padding including a gel layer, a foam layerand a fabric layer;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the helmet of FIG. 2 illustratingthe composite structure of the helmet of FIG. 2 as well as the compositestructure of the neck protector portion of the helmet;

FIG. 3A is a diagrammatic illustration of the pear shaped end portion atthe bottom of the stainless steel layer which is barbed and secures thebottom of the stainless steel layer to adjacent resilient layers.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the helmet of FIG. 2 showing the surroundingof an individual's head with the helmet; and,

FIG. 5 is a side view of the helmet of FIG. 2 showing an orifice in theside of the helmet running to the inside of the helmet which serves as aventilator channel, also into which a speaker may be incorporated fortransmitting sound into the interior of the helmet at the position ofthe individual's ears.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a number of players 10 and 12 are shown in afootball contest in which a player 10 is carrying a football 14 and useshis helmet 16 to head butt player 12, with his helmet including a hardouter shell 18 that is typical in many sports helmets.

The problem with the hard outer shell is while it may be capable ofsustaining a direct hit, it nonetheless can generate a high intensityhit against an opposing player which can cause concussions, broken bonesand contusions, oftentimes resulting in injuries that are notimmediately visible at the time of impact.

The reason for the safety concern lies in the fact that the hard outershell of the helmets can be used as a weapon against opposing players;and for this reason the helmets have been a cause of concussion andother brain injuries as well as neck and torso injuries due to thenon-resilient nature of the helmet itself.

In order to make the playing of sports safer and to provide a safetyhelmet for protecting an individual when he participates in sports andthe like, a resilient protective helmet is provided as shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, a helmet 20 is illustrated that has a resilientouter surface 22 which is the outer surface of a composite structureutilized to protect the individual's head. In one embodiment this outersurface is a resilient layer such as silicone rubber. The compositestructure also includes a stainless steel member sandwiched betweensilicone rubber layers to provide the internal strength, shockabsorption and resistance to high impacts, thus to prevent injury theindividual using the helmet.

Note that in one embodiment the silicone rubber layers are made ofSILASTIC 24020-V Nat Silicone Rubber Natural made by Dow CorningCorporation.

The stainless steel reinforcement structure sandwiched between therubber layers is sufficient to prevent piercing injury from forces fromthe outside of the helmet and in one embodiment is stainless steel layerof between 5 and 7 millimeters in thickness. The steel is of the highesttensile and ultimate strength corresponding to AISI 302 cold rolledstainless steel having a yield strength of 520 MPa and an ultimatestrength of 860 MPa. The silicone rubber layers into which it issandwiched in one embodiment are one inch layers which absorb impact asdoes the stainless steel layer.

In one embodiment the steel layer is 304 stainless steel with a 7 mmthickness. Note that 304 stainless steel is an Austenitic Nickel Alloy,although classic 8/18 A2 stainless steel may be used.

To provide further protection for the individual interior of thesandwich structure is a liquid gel layer which resides adjacent theinner rubber layer. This gel layer is Austenitic Foam Hangzhou PhaseChange Technology, Company LTD of Zaejiang Mainland China. Note a foamlayer is applied exteriorly to the gel layer. This foam layer is ingeneral provided to further absorb impacts and provides a cushioningmember for the individual's head within the helmet. Finally there may bean optional fabric layer attached to the exterior of the foam layer toprovide for ventilation and to absorb perspiration so that the use ofthe subject helmet is comfortable.

As will be seen an orifice 23 runs through the helmet and all thecomposite layer structure to the interior of the helmet for purposes ofventilation with the orifice ideally being adjacent the ear of theindividual who is going to be using the helmet. This orifice providesthe ability for the individual wearing the helmet to hear commands orother instructions from outside the helmet and in one embodiment may beprovided with a speaker and a two-way radio apparatus so thatinstructions from the bench can be transmitted to a player. Finally thehelmet may be provided with a fan in orifice 23 as will be described.

The helmet optionally is provided with a neck protector 24 which extendsdown from the base 26 of helmet 20 and has a similar composite structureto that of the helmet, absent the sandwiched stainless steel structure.Moreover, as can be seen, helmet 20 is provided in one embodiment with amandibular jaw protection extension 30 which runs forwardly and providesa shield to the individual's jaw, with the extension having the samecomposite structure as that of the helmet. The helmet is also providedin one embodiment with a face guard 32 which may be of a resilientstructure so that it itself does not form a weapon of a hard nature butrather provides a resilient, shock absorber member to protect the faceof the individual wearing the helmet.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the composite structure of helmet 20 isillustrated showing the resilient outer surface 22 to be the surface ofa rubber layer 32 of a sandwich of the aforementioned stainless steellayer here shown at 34 and another silicone rubber layer 36 which formsthe main protective barrier close to the individual's head. It will beappreciated that the resilient outer surface 22 is not hard plastic asis the case in most athletic equipment helmets but rather is resilientso that it cannot inadvertently or advertently be used as a weapon inthe athletic contest.

The stainless steel sandwich structure described above is furtherprovided with a liquid gel layer 38 adjacent the inner surface of rubberlayer 36 for shock absorbing purposes, which is in turn provided with afoam layer 40 that further absorbs any impacts to the helmet. Finally afabric liner 42 is releasably attached to the interior surface of foamlayer 40 to absorb perspiration and moisture within the helmet as wellas providing a pleasing feel of the helmet when the helmet is worn by anindividual. This fabric may be either a washable stretch-knit coolmaxlayer or a washable silk/bamboo woven quilted fabric layer, bothavailable from Select Foam of Miami, Florida.

As shown in FIG. 3A, it will be noted that stainless steel layer 34 isheld in place by pear shaped end portions 44 to keep the stainless steelfrom slipping around in the sandwich structure. This pear shaped endportion is made of hard silicone rubber and has outwardly projectingbarbs that securely anchors the bottom end of the stainless steel layer34 to the adjacent silicone rubber layers 32. Even when tremendousforces are exerted on the stainless steel layer and the whole helmet,the stainless steel layer will not come loose.

It will also be noted that in one embodiment that the stainless steellayer is between 5 and 7 millimeters thick, whereas the silicone rubberlayers are on the order of 1 inch thick made in one embodiment by DowCorning Corporation. Further, the liquid gel layer 38 incorporate aliquid gel within a sealed sack or a container, with the gel layer withsack being on the order of 4 mm-10 mm in thickness and is made by DowCorning Corporation of Midlen, Mich. under the brand name Sakura Snow.Finally, the foam layer 40 is on the order of 1 inch in thickness andmay be altered for instance to accommodate different size heads forhelmet sizing. In one embodiment the foam is a viscolastic foam such asNASA foam manufactured by Select Foam.

It will be appreciated that the helmet of FIGS. 2 and 3 is to be worntightly to the head of the individual wearing the helmet, with thehelmet size being quickly adapted by providing different thickness foamlayers to accommodate different size heads.

It will also be seen that the neck protecting extension 24 may includefor instance of an outer silicone rubber layer 50 interior to which is aliquid gel layer 52 is affixed. Thereafter, a foam layer 54 ispositioned interior to the gel layer so as to provide significant neckprotection against a blow from outside. In the embodiment shown the neckprotector does not include the sandwiched stainless steel siliconerubber layers of the helmet, as such is deemed unnecessary to protectthe neck from injury.

Referring to FIG. 4, helmet 20 is shown in front view with face guard 34positioned as illustrated and with the helmet construction havingforward chin protecting portion 30 as illustrated beneath an orifice 60in the helmet. It will be seen that when worn this helmet provides closeto 360 degree head protection, with orifice 60 providing visibility forthe individual wearing the helmet.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, helmet 20 is provided with orifice 22 intowhich is inserted a fan 62 for providing ventilation to the interior ofthe helmet as well as audio passage to the interior of the helmet.Alternatively, orifice 22 may be provided with a speaker and appropriateelectronics to wirelessly provide instructions to the person wearing thehelmet.

What is therefore provided is a helmet construction which has aresilient outer surface that prevents the helmet from being used as aweapon and further provides significant impact protection through thesandwich of a stainless steel layer between two resilient layers. Shouldsuch protection be deemed insufficient for shock absorbing, interiorshock absorbing layers may include a liquid gel layer and an additionalfoam layer so as to provide shock absorption suitable to protect theindividual wearing the helmet. Moreover, a removable fabric layer may bepositioned to the interior of the composite structure so as to providewicking of moisture away from the head of the individual while at thesame time providing ventilation properties.

It will be appreciated while the subject invention has been described interms of a contact sport such as football and for instance lacrosse andthe like, the subject helmet may be utilized as a head protection devicefor any type of sports or commercial activity such that the helmet maybe utilized for instance for bike riding or other vehicle riding, aswell as providing a safety helmet for use in construction, policing andother applications.

While the present invention has been described in connection with thepreferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understoodthat other similar embodiments may be used or modifications or additionsmay be made to the described embodiment for performing the same functionof the present invention without deviating therefrom. Therefore, thepresent invention should not be limited to any single embodiment, butrather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitationof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shell-less helmet for protecting an individualwearing the helmet from helmet impacts, comprising: an outer helmetmember comprising a first layer of resilient material; a stainless steelmember interior to said outer helmet member to absorb helmet impact fromthe exterior of the helmet, and, a foam layer interior to said stainlesssteel member to cushion impact from the outside of the helmet, said foamlayer adapted to contact the individual wearing said helmet.
 2. Thehelmet of claim 1, and further including a fabric liner interior to saidfoam layer.
 3. The helmet of claim 2, wherein said fabric liner isreleasably attachable to said foam layer.
 4. The helmet of claim 1, andfurther including a second resilient layer to the interior of saidstainless steel member such that said stainless steel member issandwiched between said resilient layers.
 5. The helmet of claim 1, andfurther including a gel layer positioned between said stainless steelmember and said foam layer.
 6. The helmet of claim 1, wherein saidstainless steel member is an austenitic nickel alloy.
 7. The helmet ofclaim 6, wherein said stainless steel member is 304 stainless.
 8. Thehelmet of claim 6, wherein said stainless steel member is 8-18 A2stainless.
 9. The helmet of claim 4, wherein said resilient layersinclude silicone rubber layers.
 10. The helmet of claim 1, and furtherincluding a rear neck extension portion extending down from the base ofsaid helmet, said neck extension portion including a sandwich of anouter layer of silicone rubber, an inner foam layer and a gel layersandwiched therebetween.
 11. The helmet of claim 1, and furtherincluding a aperture in said helmet running through said resilientmember, said stainless steel member and said foam layer providingventilation to the interior of said helmet and providing an audiopassage to the interior of said helmet.
 12. The helmet of claim 11, andfurther including a fan in said aperture.
 13. The helmet of claim 11,and further including an audio reproduction unit in said aperture. 14.The helmet of claim 4, wherein said stainless steel member has aperiphery and further including an expanded shaped end at saidperiphery.
 15. The helmet of claim 14, wherein said expanded shaped endis pear shaped and includes barbs adapted to secure the pear shaped endto adjacent resilient layers.
 16. The helmet of claim 1, wherein saidfoam layer include viscolastic foam.
 17. The helmet of claim 16, whereinsaid viscolastic foam includes NASA foam.
 18. A method of protecting anindividual from head impact comprising the step of providing theindividual with a helmet having a resilient outer member, an interiorstainless steel member adjacent said outer member, a resilient innermember adjacent said stainless steel member, a gel member adjacent saidinner resilient member and a foam layer adjacent said gel layer, thecombination of the stainless steel member sandwiched between resilientadjacent members, the gel member and the foam layer protecting the headof the individual from head impact.
 19. A helmet comprising: a resilientouter member; an interior stainless steel member adjacent said outermember; a resilient inner member adjacent said stainless steel member; agel member adjacent said inner resilient member; and, a foam layeradjacent said gel layer, the combination of said stainless steel membersandwiched between resilient adjacent members, the gel member and thefoam layer protecting the head of the individual from head impactwithout providing a hard outer shell.
 20. Apparatus for protecting anindividual from head impact comprising: a helmet having a resilientouter member, a resilient inner member and an interior member sandwichedbetween said resilient outer member and said resilient inner member,said interior member having physical characteristics associated withstainless steel, the combination of said interior member sandwichedbetween said resilient members providing head protection without a rigidouter shell.